The Final Battle A Last Goodbye
by GhostNox181
Summary: It's been 7 years since Fang left the Flock to be on his own. The world is safe, mutants are free, people are happy. He decides its time to return to the ones he left behind. They welcome him with open arms, and a sad story to share. Post FANG.
1. Welcome Back Catch Yourself

**K. Hi. This was going to be a one-shot, but I typed the whole thing, and it was sort of thing three separate sections so I made it into a three-shot. I'm currently writing two other fanfictions but this popped into my head and I decided to write it because I liked the idea. I do realize it's a bit angsty, but in all, saddening, reality, I'm better at angsty than anything else, really. So…here goes. **

**Basic background info: Post FANG. The world is saved, with only a few minor damages aka a few radiation problems and some lose mutants/experiments gone bad. Fang, upon leaving the group, went on helping Max discreetly through his blog, recruiting both mutants and humans, keeping tabs on Max and the gang to help them out when need be. Max went on to save the world with an army of mutants and humans alike, when a sudden burst of violence from the scientists behind everything popped up. Now, 7 years after leaving said group, Fang has decided it is about time to go back, what with no more threats, well, threatening either him or Max and the gang, and the world safe for the time being. Despite any misgivings, the Flock he left behind is more than welcoming to his return. They, however, have a not-so-minor surprise for him upon his return. **

**Told from Max's point of view, even though, as you've already probably guessed, she can only tell what she is observing, except during the memory.**

Watching the one you love leave you is painful. Reuniting and having him promise to never leave you again is wonderful. Having him leave you again, after promising not to, is downright agony. The years waiting for him to return are years built from suffering and heartache. But if you truly believe in your love for one another, it's bearable. Because, with a strong bond, and a strong love, even one who walks away, or flies in our case, will come back. Even if he says it won't be for years, he will come back, you will see each other again. Because that's how love works.

He even came back a few years early. I waited, you see. I waited for him to come back to me. Seven years is a long time to be apart from one you love, even when its passing by in a flurry of bloody fights and gory battles; even when its rushing past in days on the run from mutants freaks so similar to myself, and yet so, so different. Even when my days were spent cataloguing bruises and broken bones, spare cash, much needed food, and how much time we needed to fly to our next destination.

It was still a long time when I had my little Angel, who had dutifully fallen back into place and realized her position as a normal 7 going-on-14 year old bird-kid, to hug and take care of, even when she started becoming too old. It was still a long time when I had my spazzy 9 going-on-16 year old Gazzy, constantly mimicking everyone to cheer me up, even when I did have to alert the local nuclear power plants about a natural nuclear bomb. It was still a long time when I had my talkative 12 going-on-19 year old Nudge, constantly chattering my ear to fill any silences, helping out on any hacker missions, and completely keeping my girl inside in check. It was still a long time when I had my 15 going-on-22 year old blind pyro Iggy, always ready to talk when I needed him, ready to be my best friend, even though he knew he wouldn't replace the one who left, always ready with new explosives to help get rid of enemies, and always coming up with quirky quips to keep us laughing. Not to mention his cooking. It was still long even when I had Total, who I had grown to adore after his wedding, and I had seen less of him. He had puppies now, and I loved being able to go back to my mom's to fall asleep cuddling with one, and I loved Total's sarcastic comments.

But it was still a long time.

He came back though. There he was, standing at the door of our house, built entirely by ourselves (with some help by mutant friends). There he was, older, stronger, taller, more defined, more… black. He did come back, and though I know from Angel's mind reading he was expecting cold shoulders and rejection, he was welcomed with open arms.

He rang the doorbell, and I could tell he was rethinking this entire thing. How I enjoyed being able to read him. But he stood there, and he waited. And slowly the door opened, to reveal a very much older, very much matured Nudge. She looked stunning in her simplistic outfit, her unruly hair straightened and braided, wearing purple shorts and a white camisole.

She stared at him for a few moments, and he simply stared back. Then, in her usual Nudge-like-way, a huge grin lit her face and she threw herself at him in a huge bear hug, squealing words of gibberish not even ears well trained for Nudge-nonsense could make out. His ridgedness lasted a millisecond before he was hugging her back, something I didn't expect but was grateful for. The years have changed us all.

Brought out but her squeals, Angel was the next to come, her beautiful long, sandy blond curls standing out against her navy blue tank top and blue jeans. She stood there for a moment, just as Nudge had, probably reading his mind for anything, whether it was good or bad or even just to see what he'd been up to. Then tears started rolling down her face and she ran to him to, like if she waited any longer, he would vanish like dust in the wind. But as soon as her arms were around him, she sobbed even harder, and clung even tighter, as if she knew he wasn't going to disappear, but she didn't want to take the chance.

It was an amusing sight to see two teenage girls, one crying uncontrollably, one speaking words of nonsense, clinging to a guy dressed in all black who looked relieved and slightly uncomfortable. But I think he was just as glad to see them as they were to see him, he's just a lot better at controlling it.

Next to arrive was Gazzy. He snickered at the sight at first, but then muttered "Good to have you back." My Gazzy, with his green and blue plaid button down shirt over a plain white t-shirt and khaki shorts, still sort of looked like a child. But I knew how much he had matured. He showed that when he was still man-enough to walk over and give him a small hug around the girls, before trying to help pry Angel and Nudge off.

Lastly was Iggy, dear Iggy in a red t-shirt and jeans, with the tattoo of an eye on his neck clearly visible, the tattoo I had so graciously allowed him to get when he claimed it was the closest thing he would ever have to the real thing. How wrong we were. Iggy smiled at him, and he stared back and blinked, his version of surprised. "It's nice to see you."

"Iggy…"

And by that short conversation, it was understood. Iggy could see. You see, after we saved the world and all, my mom discovered the experiment outlines for the procedure that led to Iggy's blindness. And through a risky operation, she was able to reverse the problem. Permanently. She also made a lot of money off of it and put it towards helping out abandoned mutants like us who needed homes.

I watched him look around for a moment, before shrugging it off. In my head I heard Angel say _I'll explain a little later. Let's settle you in first._ He must have asked about me. But he dropped the questions, and they all walked inside, laughing and smiling, happy, as they should be.

He was settled fairly quickly. After all, he really didn't have that much stuff. They fed him lunch, courtesy of Iggy's delicious cooking. I could smell it, spaghetti and meatballs, with garlic bread and a fresh salad.

After dinner they all moved into the living room for what I knew was about to become the most uncomfortable discussion yet.

"So. You're back." Iggy said.

"So. You can see." He replied.

"Okay let's get this over with. Where were you? What were you doing? Why did you leave? What took you so long?" Nudge asked, getting straight to the point. She had quieted down a little over the years. Just a little.

"All over, I kept moving. I was helping you guys, recruiting people and keeping tabs to tell them where to go. I left to keep you safe because I thought it was for the best. And well it's been 2 years since the world was saved, and I honestly was afraid you guys would be mad and wouldn't want me." He said, and I was proud of him. He talked, he didn't avoid the questions.

"Well, thanks. And we could never be mad at you. Sure, we were at first but she… we were really upset when you left, so we learned to stick together and sort of move on knowing that eventually you'd come back, because you said you would." Angel said. She almost entered a dangerous zone, and I heard the collective intake of breath go around the room, all except for him. He looked around curiously, knowing something was up. Of course something was up. Hello, I was not sitting in that room.

"Plus, we had a world to go about saving and we really didn't have time to be mad about things like that, and after we saved the world… things got a little hectic. So… the sooner you came back, we probably would've appreciated it a whole lot. I don't actually think that sentence made much sense." Nudge added. She gave a halfhearted smile.

"I get it, even if it didn't." He told her, returning her smile with a half smile of his own.

"We really missed you. Like, even though she-we were really busy, we still had moments where we went 'Man, if only he was here.'" Gazzy said. It was his turn to tread in dangerous waters, and he looked around as if he had accidentally spilled someone's most secret secret. Angel smiled reassuringly at him, as if it was nothing, and Iggy shook his head at Gazzy as if saying 'don't call attention that you did anything.'

Of course he had already noticed, and his suspicions were growing. He kept his mouth shut for now, however, deciding best to keep his observations to himself.

"I missed you too, guys. It was difficult, being alone. I made some friends, really, really weird ones. But they all went their own ways, and I always thought of you and that's why I kept away, so I could help from a distance. Be sort of a background player." He said. And it made sense. Someone to send back-up, right when we needed it but didn't think it was coming. And it came, but we never knew how. We always had our ideas, but never knew for sure.

"It was much appreciated, let me tell you. Oh man, one particular battle, we were totally way outnumbered, and then like, an army of kids like us just came marching in and beat the leaving hell out of our opponents, and we were so freaking grateful. She- we were practically laughing at the situation, because Gazzy had just said 'now would be the time for an army of freaks to fall from the sky' and in they walked. Good timing, bro, goooood timing." Iggy said, and though he also walked in a caution zone, the four of them who remembered that battle started chuckling a little at the memory. That was a good day, and man, were our butts saved.

"Hah, you're welcome." He said, noticing once more how someone caught themselves to change from _she_ to _we_.

"I think it's time we told you. I can hear your thoughts, you know. I hear you questioning each of us every time one of us catches ourselves in a sentence. I have a new power, shocker I know, but I can show the past, only if I was there. I'll show you." Angel told him solemnly, and suddenly a chill ran through the room. I watched him for any signs of emotion to see if he expected what was to come, but nothing was there, even to me.

Everyone ran silent. They knew what was coming. Nudge was already tearing up, clinging desperately on to the pillow of the couch. Iggy was clenching and unclenching his fists, looking at the floor. Gazzy was staring blankly at Angel, waiting. I watched, knowing it would be eerie watching it all over again, but wanting to be there nonetheless.

"Alright." He said.

Angel closed her eyes, focusing, and then she opened them again and an image started playing in the middle of the living room. It was scary, her new power. You could hear the thoughts of the person you were focusing on, and the people were full, 3D people. You heard every sound, every word spoken to the person or by the person or near the person etc.

And so, my final battle began. Again.


	2. Mourn Our Fallen Leader

_**3 years ago- The final battle to save the world.**_

_I stood there, facing the Director. She had been behind everything the whole time. Dr. Chu, Dr. Gunther-Hagen, all the radiation and nuclear bombs going off the last 2 years, the countless people dying, all the kids like me, everything. She stood at the head of it all, and I stood in her way to finishing it._

"_Maximum."_

"_Marian."_

_We stared each other down, her cold eyes glaring into my ruthlessly bloodthirsty ones. We had found and she had killed Angel and Gazzy's parents. She had killed Iggy's parents. She had killed Nudge's mom. For all I knew, she had killed his as well. And she had nearly killed my mother, and my sister was now in a coma, paralyzed from the waist down, probably for life. She had killed many of the mutant friends I had made over the years. She had killed many of the human friends I had made over the years. She had killed people I didn't even know. And it sorely PISSED ME OFF!_

_We had also killed people in this battle for the greater good. But they had been white coats, and mutants set out for blood and blood only. We had doubts about it at first, but after the first of our friends were killed before our eyes, we got over them and set about just saving the world, even if it meant some people had to go. And. She. Had. To. Go._

"_You're not going to win this, Maximum." She said, coldly. I smiled._

"_We'll see about that." I told her, just as coldly._

"_Are you ready, Maximum? You can just surrender now and be killed quickly."_

"_I will never surrender to you!" I spat._

"_Suit yourself." And with that the final battle began._

_Her army of vicious, snarling, modified Erasers surged forwards, along with other strange reject mutants that she favored. White coats with guns and knives and swords and spears and so many forms of weapons jumped into the mix, and shots rang out as friends on my side fell down, some injured, some dead instantaneously. _

_My army ran forward, composed of humans with guns and nearly every weapon, much like the white coats, and mismatched mutants with weird powers of their own to take these guys out. _

_People went down almost immediately when the two armies collided. I turned and attacked the first thing to come at me, a huge, snarling Eraser. I gave him a nasty blow to the snout, before another eraser pummeled into him, knocking them both out._

"_Thanks!" I shouted to one of the mutants, some bear mix, who had thrown the Eraser into mine. He nodded in acknowledgement before continuing on. _

_Suddenly a huge pain shredded through my left arm and I looked over to see a knife protruding from my arm, blood pouring out and down my arm in a cascading waterfall. The white coat laughed viciously before I yanked the knife out of my own arm and through it at him, hitting him square in the chest. I didn't have time to watch him fall as I ran to help other members of my army. _

"_Angel! Iggy! Nudge! Gazzy! Guys!" I shouted over the roar of clashing metal and screams of agony. I pushed through the crowd, only stopping to deliver a blow to an opposing force here and there to help my side._

"_Max!" I heard my little girl cry out, and I turned around, searching for the sound of her voice. I saw a flash of blonde hair in the corner of my eye and spun and ran in that direction, narrowly dodging a bullet as it skimmed my cheek. _

_Angel was surrounded by three Erasers and some strange shimmering mutant boy who kept disappearing and reappearing. She kept trying to mind control one of the Erasers, but then another one would make a lash at her from behind and she'd turn and attack that one, losing her control over the previous one. I saw the third Eraser lunge at her and I growled and knocked him and myself to the ground. We both stood up and I jumped up, letting my wings out a little to add momentum, and crashed back down on his back and he pummeled into the ground. I had broken his spine, if he wasn't dead, he'd be paralyzed. _

_I turned to Angel to see she had taken down the first Eraser and was working on the second. That left me with Mr. Shimmer. He glared at me, and I glared right back. Suddenly, as if he was air and a slight breeze had blown by, he vanished, and reappeared behind me. I spun around, only to have him disappear and reappear behind me again. We repeated this several times before I started getting dizzy. I realized that was his objective, and closed my eyes. I heard him hiss and though I couldn't actually hear him come near me, I felt his presence draw closer to me. Right before his impact, I snarled, turned and punched his stomach and he fell, his shimmer blinking for a moment. His eyes closed and I stared, for I really hadn't hit him that hard. But he didn't get back up, so I turned and ran, after checking to make Angel was okay._

"_Iggy and Gazzy are staying with a group of fire players, using their fire to keep their never ending new bombs going. Nudge is with her techies, but they're fighting pretty well. She hadn't had many injuries when I last checked with her, just a bruise or two and possibly a sprained finger. I'm okay, a cut or two and a bruise on my shoulder. You, however, have a huge hole in your arm and its gushing blood. We've also lost like ¼ of our troops. The other side has lost half, so as of right now, we ARE winning, but it's a very bloody, very deadly battle, and it's not over yet. You have to kill her Max."_

"_I know Angel. I'm planning on it. I have to find her first. Find Justine and Matt. Their combined mind powers with yours should be a nice little group to fight these guys." I told her, ducking a rogue bullet and pulling Angel out of the way of two mutants locked in battle. She nodded and started to run off. I grabbed her wrist and she turned to look at me._

"_Be careful, Ange." I said solemnly, just barely letting my fear show. She smiled._

_We'll win Max. We always do._

_Then she ran off, pushing her way through the crowd, mind controlling those who wouldn't move, helping people where she could, until I could no longer see her. Sighing, I turned and rejoined the battle._

_Someone knocked into me from behind, but apologized so I knew it was from my side. My arm was beginning to go numb, but I ignored the blood that still gushed from it and shoved my way through the fighters, stepping over fallen comrades, saying silent prayers for their spirits. I desperately wanted to take to the sky, but there wasn't enough room for me to take off anywhere. I looked up and did see some other avian kids flying, shooting enemies from the skies, and quickly being shot down themselves in a flurry of feathers. They came crashing down into the crowd, trampled and forgotten; it was sickening. But it also confirmed my fear: flying was out._

_I heard a cry of pain and turned to see human girl on my side in a losing grip of a white coat, being held out to an Eraser. I knew I didn't have any time to get over there, so I looked around hurriedly for something to help and spotted a white coat's… severed arm holding a gun. I bent down and picked it up. It felt loaded. I took a huge swallow and aimed it carefully at the white coat that held the girl. I cocked it and pulled the trigger and felt the vibration run through my whole arm, instantly feeling sick to my stomach at what I had just done. I hated guns. But the white coat dropped and the girl fell free, and looked around, smiling hugely at me when she saw me. I nodded at the Eraser, and she picked up her sword and ran it through him, as if it were no big deal. _

_I sighed and turned around keeping the gun in my hand despite the fact I didn't like the thing. It was useful, as far as weapons went. I walked around, picking up discarded knives here and there, but losing them just as quickly to save friends from a distance. An update from Angel told me that both sides were about equal on the death toll. She told me to hurry up. _

_A blow to my head from the back knocked the gun from hand. Stars danced behind my eyes as I fell forward, catching myself with my bad arm, which only collapsed under the pressure. I coughed a little, and was surprised to see blood on the ground before me. I knew it was mine, and not the blood from the hundreds of dead bodies littering the field. I took in a deep breath and ignored the pain and all the signals my body was sending to my brain telling it to black out. Before I could regain any composure, someone or something kicked me in the side and I immediately felt a few ribs break as I sucked in another large breath and collapsed on to the un-kicked side, landing squarely, however, on my injured arm. I closed my eyes for a second against the blinding sunlight above me, but blinked my eyes open before I could pass out, forcing myself up. Unfortunately, a foot forced itself down on my chest, forcing me back to the ground. _

"_Maximum Ride."_

"_Omega. How lovely to see you alive. They haven't improved you or anything." I gasped out, for his freaking foot was pressing down unbelievably hard on my chest, making it very difficult to breath._

"_You've humiliated me the last few times we've met. The only thing they've improved in me is my anger at being humiliated. I lost to you. Omega isn't built for losing." He spat at me. I would've laughed, had I not been in so much pain._

"_You've come back for more, ay? Is that what I'm hearing? If you lose to me every time we meet, why do you insist on fighting me again and again?" I managed. I was really trying to stall. I had landed nearly on top of one of the knives I had picked up, and it was just in reach of my hand. If I could get him to keep talking, it would give me enough time to reach it. I didn't know what I was going to do after that._

"_One of these days I knew I was going to come out on top. I would beat the invincible Maximum Ride. I would win. Today, Maximum, is that day. My question, for you, is are you ready to die?" he asked me, bending down rather close to my face. Boy his breath smelt. _

"_Quoting my dear friend Peter Pan, to die would be an awfully big adventure." And with that, I reached up and stabbed his arm, the only place I could reach, with the knife I had reached. Thank God he was bending down. If he wasn't, I would have stabbed his leg, and that wouldn't have hurt nearly as much._

_He howled in pain and stepped back off of me. I rolled over and coughed up a little more blood, much to my dismay. Then I jumped to my feet the best I could, grabbing my gun and a nearby knife. Omega glared at me, and boy if looks could kill I would have fallen dead there and then. _

"_Unfortunately, I prefer my adventures in small doses." I snarled, though it wasn't nearly as effective as I would've hoped because my voice was raspy from not being able to breathe._

_He growled and lunged at me, I dodged, not wanted to expend too much energy fighting. I needed to sit down; I was really dizzy. I think I had lost over a gallon of blood. And at least two ribs were cracked. My left arm was completely useless, all it really did was hold a knife until my right arm needed it. It was still bleeding, too. My side was sore from where he kicked me, and my head was pounding from where he hit me over the head. I think I felt blood trickling down the back of my neck. _

_Suddenly this little robot came maneuvering into the space between me and Omega. It waved at me and turned and started shooting these little pellets at Omega. He stared at it, kind of dazed and with one of those are-you-serious looks. I waited, and for a second nothing happened and I began to lost hope. Then, out of nowhere, the pellets went up in smoke, and Omega burst into flame, screaming. I took a surprised step back after jumping in shock._

_Omega fell to the ground, knees, chest, head, in that order. They were connected, barely. He was charred and he smelled like burnt skin. I nearly threw up right there from the stench, but I kept my cool._

_The little robot turned to me and waved again. Nudge's face appeared in a little screen on the robot's head. _

"_Angel alerted me that you could use some assistance. Thank Iggy for the pellet-bombs. Completely his invention. I just incorporated them into my design. Wow Max, you look like crap. Glad I came when I did. Wish I could've made it sooner, but we've been really busy over here. We're dropping like flies. Get going! Scat. We'll take care of everything else." Her face faded from the screen and I smiled as the little robot wheeled away._

_I took a shaky breath and walked forward. I didn't have far to go before I hit the edge of the clearing. Before I found her. I held back another cough. I didn't want to show any weakness in front of her._

"_It's time to end this Marian." I said firmly. She stood up from where she had been sitting, not a scratch on her._

"_Maximum Ride. I agree. One of us has to go."_

"_It sure as hell ain't going to be me." I growled. _

_I had had enough. I had seen enough of my friends die for my cause. I was sick of my friends' blood being spilt for my purposes. I was tired of them fighting for freedom, but her standing in our way, blocking our path. I wanted free skies; I wanted a free earth for everybody. I was sick of my friends dying bloody, painful deaths at the hands of people who created them. I HATED seeing them die in front of my eyes, in front of their families' eyes. I hated seeing my flock cry because someone they had loved had been killed mercilessly. All the blood wars that had taken place in just a few short years over freedom for kids who belonged to world as much as everyone else, they needed to end. And here I stood, facing the only chance I had at stopping them all, at ending all the deaths, at avenging all my friends and experiments alike, for that's what we are. Bloody freaking experiments to these cruel scientists._

_I lifted up my gun, trying hard to keep my hand steady. The insurmountable pain I was feeling kept building and building inside me, especially as I heard people crying over the fallen behind me. Especially as I heard people dying behind me. _

"_Are you really going to kill me, Max?" She asked, taking a step forward. She, too, had a gun in her hand, which at this point she raised. _

_I gritted my teeth to keep myself from collapsing. My left arm was no longer a problem; the blood had stopped and I couldn't feel it. My ankle was most definitely sprained, and I had no idea when that happened. My pounding head was making it extremely difficult to focus on anything. My crushed rib cage made it hard to breathe, making me very light headed, which was very weird since I felt very heavy. And I very, very, very dearly needed to cough._

"_You bet she is!" I heard a voice cry out, and I felt my heart lift a little. Gazzy was behind me, cheering me on. Gazzy was safe, he was still healthy enough to cheer me on._

"_Max is going to beat you! You old hag!" I heard Nudge call out. I was a little shocked to hear that type of insult come from Nudge, but nonetheless I felt like laughing. My Nudge was here, safe, with Gazzy. _

_As I held Marian Janssen's gaze I saw her go a little red at the insult. Her grip tightened on her gun, but she kept her calm, collected smile._

"_You've got quite the cheer squad. But what about the other two? Did they not last through the fight?" She asked, tilting her head a little. I felt myself pale a little; as if that was possible due to the amount of blood I'd lost. Where __**were**__ Iggy and Angel?_

"_Psh. As if your goons could defeat me! I was trained by the best! Go Max!" Iggy called out and I smiled despite my previous misgivings. My third Flock member had made it, even though he had a handicap that could've been a disadvantage. He made it and he was here to cheer me on, with his immature, lovable attitude._

"_As was I! Max raised me and trained me and there is not a single person in the whole world that could've done it better! She'll kick your butt before you even saw it coming because Max is amazing!" by now I was honestly and truly smiling, breathing steadily, and my pain was forgotten. The youngest member was alive, and though I didn't know to what state she was in, she was here to cheer for me. My little Angel had called me amazing, and I would prove to her that I could be._

"_Well it seems that your flock is alright. Well this part of it. Wasn't there a 6__th__ member… maybe that's just my mind playing tricks on me?" She pondered, knowing full well the effects. _

_Bye bye, happy feeling. _

_I pulled the trigger on my gun, tears already streaming down my face. All the pain had come rushing back. The bullet missed her, and hit a tree. She tsked at me._

"_Don't dwell in the past Maximum, it gets you nowhere." This time she pulled the trigger, but I stepped aside watching it go by with blank eyes. I wasn't so much sad as I was pissed that she'd brought him up. The bullet hit one of her white coats. Idiot._

_I pulled the trigger again and the bullet just grazed her shoulder. I looked into her eyes, to see shock. She completely expected to win, and was unaware that there was a slight possibility that I might._

_I pulled the trigger again and again, running all over, aiming blindly, just wishing for her to be dead, wanting to die myself. He left me…. I closed my eyes, still shooting, tears flowing freely down my face, stinging where I had cuts._

"_Max! Max stop!" I heard a chorus of voices ring out. I stopped for a second, and blinked._

"_Max, you can't just fire aimlessly. You're going to hurt someone!" Wasn't that the point…?_

_No, you might hurt someone on our side. Look up; look at Marian, who's terrified. You grazed her cheek and her arm twice. You only have one bullet left. Make it count. _

_Angel… I can't do this._

_You have to, Max! You're our only hope. Everyone else is either dead or in battle still. Us four are keeping people from getting to you. _

_Angel…__ I took a steadying breath. I felt dizzy and I hurt all over. I let out a round of coughing into my elbow, looking away in fear when blood trickled down my arm._

_Angel I'm going to close my eyes. Guide me._

_Okay Max._

_I heard her tell the others to guard her. _

_I felt Angel's mind wash over mine as I closed my eyes. My hand started moving. I felt my fingers close around the trigger. I felt it tug. I felt a vibration go through my whole body._

_I also heard two shots go off. _

_The gun dropped from my hand as I fell backwards from the force of the bullet hitting my stomach, combined with my already weak body. Mine must have hit her first and thrown off her aim. Then again, maybe she wanted me to die slowly and in pain._

"_Max!" Someone screamed. _

_The battle cries ended. I heard my remaining side cheer. We won. The Director, the head of everything was dead. I knew that much. _

_I didn't know who had called my name. I didn't know whose lap my head was cradled in. I didn't know whose sobbing I was hearing. I didn't know who was pressing something onto the bullet wound in my stomach. I didn't know how many of us had survived. I didn't know who was pushing the strands of hair from my face. I didn't know how long we stayed like that, a huge circle formed around my broken, bloody body in someone's lap, waiting to see if their leader passed or pulled through. _

_I opened my eyes, blinking. Then I gasped and closed them in pain as if that would make it go away._

"_Oh my gosh, Max! Shh, don't move. You are severely injured. We can't risk moving you right now; you've lost too much blood. Moving you might open a wound, and we can't risk that. We're combining all our available medicine and first aid kits to help you." Nudge told me, her voice shaky._

_I looked up at her, and smiled, though it came out as more of grimace. Then I turned my head and coughed and coughed and coughed, and hid my mouth from the others to try to hide the blood. But they saw it. Nudge used the edge of her shirt to wipe the blood from the corner of my mouth._

"_Don't waste the kits on me. Use them on the people who will make it." I said through short breaths of air. I was finding it harder and harder to breathe in. Mustering as much strength as I could, I shifted a little so I could look around. About a little less than half my group had made it, and was standing in huge circle around me, terrified, desperate faces plastered on each of their faces. They looked at their fallen leader, and I met as many eyes as I could. Some had hope, some were hopeless. None cared about our victory. I should have felt touched. I just wanted to console all of them, to tell them I'd be alright._

_I knew I wouldn't be. _

_We won the fight. We won our freedom. I killed Marian Janssen. But here I am. And nobody is cheering, nobody is happy. Nobody is celebrating and we should be. And it's my fault. Stupid gun. This freaking pain is agonizing! Where's morphine when you need it? I will never touch valium again… Just let it be over soon. Let me end soon, or numb soon or something, so when I pass they can mourn me, then celebrate. They need to celebrate! Even though I led them here, and though they'll need someone to lead them back, they need to celebrate._

"_Max? Max you can pull through this. Don't think like that! You're a leader, a fighter! You fight, you don't give up! We'll save you! You'll be alright!" Angel yelled at me, tears forming in her eyes, and I saw dry tear tracks on her face. I reached out, rather painfully, and cupped her cheek._

"_Little Angel. Some things just aren't worth fighting for. Being a leader means knowing when to fight, and when it's best to let things go." Angel stared at me with wide eyes before breaking down in sobs. I smiled a sad smile, knowing I couldn't do anything, and that she knew my words were true._

_Gazzy wrapped an arm around his sister, and I knew he was trying to be brave, trying not to cry, trying to be strong for me. I appreciated it._

"_Go ahead, Gazzy. Let it out. Crying is never good when it's kept bottled up. It turns into anger. I would know." I murmured. He smiled a little, and I saw a few tears roll down his cheeks as he still tried to keep it in. Then he broke down, and I tried my best not to die on them right there, while Nudge cried with me in her lap, and brother and sister held each as they cried to their heart's content. I felt honored that would cry so much for me. I guess, I did raise them all. I trained them. I protected them. I was practically their mother figure. Even though their real parents had died, I was the one who took care of them their whole lives. I understand why it's so hard for them to accept it._

_Iggy was the only one not crying. _

"_He would've made you fight it. He would've convinced you that you could be saved." He said, staring blindly at the sky._

"_He might've tried Iggy, but nobody can evade death. Even me, as much as I like to think I can." I said, earning a small laugh._

_Iggy ruffled my hair and kissed my forehead with his amazing accuracy. It made me feel a little better. _

"_Don't worry. You may not be able to evade death, but it sure took a hell of a lot to get you here." I smiled and closed my eyes, already feeling numb from the waist down._

"_True dat." I sighed, sucking in a deep breath when my bullet wound shifted._

"_Iggy?" I said softly._

"_Yeah Max?" he replied delicately, knowing I was about ready to go. Because hell and heaven alike knew I wasn't going until I was ready._

"_You'll tell him, right?" I asked even quieter than before, and had he not been blind, had his ears not been accustomed to soft noises, he might not've heard me._

"_Of course."_

_So, smiling, I let myself go, let myself forget the pain and the worries of my life. I let myself die._

_I let Maximum Ride die._


	3. The Final Goodbye

**Back to 3 years after the memory occurred.**

I watched from my perch on the stairs, which gave me a view into the living room, as the memory became blank. Angel and Nudge were crying again. Gazzy was glaring angrily at the wall. He didn't have to cry. He had cried so much over me, that he was done. But he was just angry that he couldn't save me. They all were.

Iggy was watching _him_ for any reaction. He was staring at the place in the living room where my body had just lain, broken, a hole through my stomach, dying. He looked about ready to kill someone, but of course his eyes were telling a whole different story.

He was heartbroken. He had come back for me, and I was gone. And not gone in the sense where you could go after me and drag me back by the wing. I was _gone_. Forever. There was no dragging me back, no chasing after me. No more memories to be made, no more arguments to be had. You could see all this realization in his eyes. He would never again have me.

I felt the same pain as I was dying.

"Iggy. Wh-What'd she want you to tell me?" His voice cracked. He was trying not to cry. Silent, collected, impassive as he was, he still had a heart like all of us, and it was breaking in front of him.

"She loved you, man. Always did. That day, right before the battle, Angel heard her dream. She was with you. You guys were somewhere, some place that was really warm and you both were laughing and she was truly and honestly happy. She woke up and had this smile on her face that none of us had seen for a few years since you had left. Then she entered the battle. As if it came crashing down, she realized she might never get to see you again, and she wanted you to know she loved you. She always loved you the most. We may have resented you at points for it, but we've come to learn that it's not really she loved you more; it's that she loves you differently. We're her siblings. You're her soul mate. And she… died making sure someone, aka me, was there who was able to let you know that she was always thinking of you. She told me before the fight began that if she didn't walk out of it, which I stupidly told her she would, that you were going to blame yourself for what happened. She told me, and I quote, 'Iggy, under no circumstances, do you let him blame himself for letting me die, if I die. He chose to walk away, which means he won't be here, which means he wasn't part of the fight, for which I'm grateful so he won't get hurt. I wish you guys weren't either… Ahh, sorry. And if he wasn't part of the fight, then there was nothing he could have done. He couldn't have stopped me from dying; he couldn't have stopped me from fighting. Fate weaves its own twisted web. If he was there to stop me, I would've died another, more painful death anyway. And that would've been his fault.'" Iggy laughed a little at the end, and though everyone was a little distraught, my sarcastic humor even in bad times, even after my death brought them together.

I laughed along with them.

"Fine then. It wasn't my fault. I blame the twisted web that Fate weaved, and Marian Janssen." He said, earning another small laugh from the group. I could see the shock in his eyes from the truth and openness with which Iggy spoke to him.

Then, he stood up, rather abruptly.

"Sure, it's at that field in the memory. We could fly there right now." Angel answered his silent question.

"Actually…" he muttered.

"I'll tell you where then." Angel said, smiling, drying off the remnants of her tears.

Not much later I was sitting on my grave, waiting. That's the fun thing about being a spirit: you can just appear somewhere.

He arrived two hours after I got there. He landed with his back to the grave, as if he were afraid to see where my body lay. I'd be afraid too. In fact, I was the first time I saw it.

Slowly, he turned around, and time seemed to stand still as the one person who wasn't there when I died looked over my resting spot.

He walked carefully to the marker that I was sitting on and knelt before it, staring for a few moments. I looked away, unable to watch as the one I loved but could not be with cried silently over my body.

I looked back after a few moments and noticed he was tracing the words on my marker. They were delicately chosen, simple, but I liked them.

_Maximum Ride  
Death: July 18, 2017  
Leader, Mother, Friend  
Loved so many, loved by so many  
"The word impossible is not in my dictionary."  
Even in death, she is invincible_

He laughed a little at the quote they had chosen for my marker. I liked it. It fit me quite well.

I wanted to reach out and touch him, do something, anything, for I hadn't been able to in so long. I died two years ago. It's been two years since my spirit took to watching over my Flock, waiting for him to come and see me. That's why I'm here. I couldn't move on because my spirit was unhappy, it felt like it should have seen him first, before I died.

He sat there staring at my grave for hours. It started to get a little dark, the sun starting to set a little bit. He got up to leave, and so did I and I think that's when it happened.

"Max…?" he asked. I was confused for a second. That is my name, but I am dead. But he was looking straight at me…

"Can you see me?" I asked, hesitantly. He blinked, and then a half smile broke out across his face.

"You are invincible, even to death. It can't hold you for long can it?" He asked, suddenly solemn again. But that half smile was all I needed. I smiled back, and ran to him, and though I half expected to faze right through him, being a spirit and all, I was solid against him, and he could hug me back with just as much force as I hugged him.

"Max, I'm sorry I left you. I'm sorry for everything. I know Iggy said you said I shouldn't blame myself, but I can't help it. If I had been there, we could've taken her down together. It would've been easy. I could've helped you with Omega and you would've been strong enough to fight off death. You know, Max, you know I would've taken that bullet for you." He whispered that last part. I buried my head in his shoulder.

"A Flock can rebuild without a leader. But a leader can't rebuild when she's missing parts of her flock. What happened was you weren't there. I lived on the chance you would be coming back to see us, and you did. Here you are! But if you had been there, when all the guns were going off, and you had died, you wouldn't have been coming back, and I wouldn't have been able to rebuild. The past is over with. I died. End of story. I'm in your arms right now, something that is only happening by a small miracle and chance of Fate. Stop blaming yourself, and learn to see that some things in life, though missing a few parts, are beautiful. You're going to have to leave here soon. I'm leaving. I waited two years." I murmured into his shoulder. He ran his finger through my hair and held onto my tighter, as if letting me go was out of the question.

"_That's_ why you're here. You couldn't go until I came back…" He whispered. I smiled against him, wishing I could cry. But that's one of the not fun things about spirits. We can smile, and we can laugh. But we can't feel happiness or sadness or anything. And we can't cry.

He rubbed the spot between my wings, as if he knew exactly how I felt.

"But you came back. You came back like you promised, and I can leave now. I've waited seven years to see you again." I pulled back and ran my shockingly white fingers through his contrasting black hair. "I missed you so much. You've grown so much in seven years. The entire Flock has. I've been watching them for the past two years, they might not seem like they need it, but they need you to watch over them now."

He rested his forehead against mine, closed his eyes, and sighed.

"Why'd you have to go Max?"

"I was ready then. I'm ready now. You came to say goodbye. Say your goodbyes now, because my time has come…again." I said pulling away gently. He gripped my wrist firmly and pulled me back in a tight hug.

"I have and do and will always love you, even though you're gone. Don't you dare forget me wherever you're going! And I promise I will watch over the Flock and the world, until it's my turn to come to you. I broke a promise to you once before, but I will not break this one. But I know you have to go, and as much as it's going to hurt me to let this happen, I will not forget you, and I will be strong, and I'll try my best to not blame myself for anything, for you." He said to me. If I was not mistaken, I felt a tear drop splash onto my shoulder. I smiled and thanked the place I was going that I couldn't cry or feel sadness.

"I won't forget you. I'll always love you, even if I'm not here. And I'm always watching over you and the Flock. Remember, it's only for a little while." I said backing up. I felt myself start to glow as I grew fainter and fainter to see. I watched more tears trickle down his face, but he said nothing. I looked down, and I could see right through my hand, only the bare outlining visible. I raised my hand up in a wave, which he returned. And soon, I was gone.

"Goodbye, Maximum Ride." He whispered.

And if you were there with him, and had listened closely, you would've heard a soft voice on the wind reply.

"_Goodbye Fang."_

**So…. what'd you think? Was it okay? I tried not to make it too sad, but sort of hopeful. I hope my action scene was okay. Review?**


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